What next after the bride price?

Nelly Lukale, from the YWCA of Kenya,  and was a World YWCA Programme Associate in 2012. Nelly has been championing young women’s SRHR in Kenya and interned at the World YWCA in Geneva in to contribute her experience into global and regional advocacy.

Yeah!!  It’s another year, another month, and another time when all eyes, ears and minds are set on the 57^th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), one of the biggest women’s event of the year held annually by the United Nations in New York. So what are we going to discuss this year? Oh wow, it’s about the greatest monster in  society today, Violence against Women!!!

My only concern is about child marriage. How many survivors of such marriages will be at the CSW? And to the few who will be privileged enough to go, who will give them the pla

tform to raise their voice and share their life experience with rest of the world? And who will help stop this monster from affecting our sisters and daughters?  Is it me

Nelly Lukale

and you,

or is it the big files neatly arranged in the offices of our governments, INGO and NGO offices, together with loads of recommendations, commitments and solutions?  These are some of the questions we should keep asking ourselves as we prepare to participate in the CSW this year.

There are universal rules for marriage and rules against child marriage. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) states

 “that men and women of full age are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. Marriage shall be entered into only with free and full consent of the intending parties”.

Who said marrying me off as a young girl to a man who is older than my own father and getting lots of money and animals as bride price will change the life of my family? This is just a temporary solution. If I was given a chance to study, get a good job and marry when, where and who I want, I would make the lasting change I want to see in my family and society at large. Education is therefore the only way to prevent child marriages. Early marriage, together with its relation to low levels of education, high levels of violence and abuse and severe health risks results in increased vulnerability to poverty for girls.

For many communities and families in my region, poverty is the main cause of child marriage and the reason why parents choose to marry their girls off, as they are regarded as an economic burden. What we don’t know is that by doing so we deprive this girl of her basic rights to education, health, development and equality. It pains me to see girls regarded as a commodity that a family can trade to settle debts or  a family who believes that marrying their young girls off is the best way to ensure the   economic safety of their child and the whole family. The issue of virginity still remains a major concern for many families in today. Girls are expected to maintain their virginity till marriage and are considered a shame to the family if they lose their virginity before marriage, so many girls are married early to ensure their virginity. The big question that remains in my mind is “who on earth checks whether a man is a virgin at marriage or not”? Isn’t this pure discrimination? And how long are we going to sit back and watch while this happens?

 As parents we MUST consider the consequences of child marriage before we make a decision to send them off to that very old man. We must know that these girls have not developed fully and their bodies will strain during child birth which might cause obstructed labor. As young mothers, they may also face severe complications such as heavy bleeding, infection and anaemia. These girls lack freedom of movement so they are not able to negotiate access to health care because of fear, lack of money, distance or permission from their spouse. And did you just forget that HIV/AIDS has its arms wide open ready to grab any innocent blood? Young girls suffer vulnerability to HIV/AIDS as these older husbands may already be infected from their previous relationships. They are unable to negotiate safer sex and use of contraceptives, such as condoms, to prevent them from HIV infection.

 My message to the governments, stakeholders, Civil Society and the International community is: let’s realize the rights of the girl child and develop programmes aimed at eradicating child marriage; let’s also improve access to education and eliminate gender gaps both in the health care services and education as well.

Remember, a wise choice today will lead to a better tomorrow. We have the power in our hands and will, so let us stand up and use it wisely!

 Over 30% of women in the world were before the reached 18 years of age and every year. 10 million CHILDREN  are forced into marriage!

You could truly make a difference at CSW 2013.

By signing this petition your voice will be loud and clear to the leaders, ambassadors and law makers of nations, that this practice can not be allowed to take place anymore in the world!

SIGN THE PETITION TO END CHILD MARRIAGE

Rising Again

The third meeting of the High Level Panel (HLP) on the Post-2015 Development Agenda was held in Monrovia, Liberia. The theme of the meeting was “National Building Blocks for Sustained Properity – Economic Transformation”.

Jacque Koroi (YWCA of Fiji)a World YWCA Intern, who was present at the Monrovia HLP  shares her observations from the experience.

Jacque Koroi

‘Women Oh Women’ shouted the Minister for Gender, Liberia. ‘This is our time’ came the reply from women of different backgrounds in the audience. And together everyone shouted ‘Women, don’t just sit down, we stand up and do something positive with the men’.  This was one of the many chants the Ministry for Gender put together as part of their women’s outreach programme.

 Liberia is a nation slowly moving forward after 14 years of Civil War (1989-2003) that left their infrastructure in ruins, families losing loved ones to the war and hurtful memories. Nevertheless a billboard on the roadside reminds everyone that ‘Liberia is on the Rise Again’.

During my 10 hour plane ride to Monrovia, I sat next to a man, also a pastor and father. He had a very captivating story about how he took shelter in the bush with his family during the war to stay clear from the violence. During this time, his son got sick and he couldn’t take his child to the hospital, his son died. This man watched many of his people lose their lives and still found it in his heart to forgive the perpetrators and help to rebuild the nation.  I also met a young man who is hoping someday to go back to school, at 27 he cannot read or write properly, and is working to support his younger bother in primary school.

 Apart from the history of the civil war, Liberia is the first African nation to have a woman democratically elected as Head of State, Her Excellency Ellen Johnston Sirleaf. Oh, and some  women groups have also put a song for her called ‘Mama Ellen we Love you,  Mama Ellen dats u, Mama Ellen you gave us dignity’, Oh Mama Ellen we love you’.  I must say, it was really inspiring to be amongst the Liberian women as they sang, danced and were full of life. I got hooked and hummed the song to myself on the plane ride home, days later.

 Madame Ellen Johnston is also one of the three co-chairs of the 27 members of the High Level Panel appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. The other co-chairs are President Susilo Bamband Yudhoyono of Indonesia and Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom. In this capacity, Ms Johnston hosted the 3^rd High Level Panel in Monrovia (Jan 28^th- Feb 2^nd). Two days had been set aside for a Civil Society Consultation with the High Level Panel. The World YWCA delegation consisted of our General Secretary Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Rosaline Toweh (Liberia) Nelly Lukale (Kenya) and I (Fiji). We were also joined on a few occasions by the President and Treasurer of the YWCA Liberia. It was an interesting meeting overall, and key outcomes included retaining a stand alone MDG on Gender Equality with additional targets and indicators, stronger attention on sexual and reproductive health and rights work moving beyond the GDP measurement to include the health and social well-being of citizens.

 The MDG review process is a critical time for the world, it will define our global priorities and direct resources towards achieving it, both human and natural for the next two decades. The World YWCA is engaging in the different consultations, and if you are keen, you can also lend your voice to the consultation process whilst time is still on our side.  

Link: Online Forum for Beyond 2015

Reflections on Development & Disability

By Inunonse Ngwenya from the YWCA of Zambia. Inunonse recently attended the Global Youth Forum in Bali, Indonesia and shares her thoughts on what meaningful development looks like. 

-         If you are thinking a year ahead , sow seed

-         If you are thinking ten years ahead, plant a tree

-         If you are thinking one hundred years ahead educate the people.

Convinced that real and lasting change begins with the grassroots and that young people especially girls and young women including those living with disabilities, hold a key to a nation’s bright future, I strongly believe that in every country there is work to be done and in every community there are wounds to heal. It remains for all of us as leaders to unleash our potential to significantly contribute to this global undertaking even with our seemingly unappreciated efforts at local level.

In every woman there is great potential to excel in life. Womanhood is a phase where young girls cross over to become adults and responsible citizens of society. There are so many young women that have always desired to be a lawyer, doctor, nurse, engineer or teacher we can name them. But do they get the same chance to achieve their ambition or once given the opportunity do they fully exploit such opportunity to realise their dreams?

Action will take place in a vacuum, and the first stage in any sustainable development process must be to raise awareness of local – global causes and to show people concrete, practical and meaningful ways to make changes in their own lives which benefits the wider environment.

Development will not  be sustainable  unless  it  originates  from  the concept  of local  development based  on efforts  of the local population  who respect priorities that they themselves define.

Disability

One of the first objectives of sustainability development planning is to establish a common vision of the future of the community, without this vision the action planning process would lack a clear picture of the community and society’s priorities and satisfying their needs be very hit and miss affair.

Clearly, this vision is only valuable if it represents the views of a cross – section of the community, and as such it will be necessary to involve an element of compromise. This is because the diverse mix of people in any community brings great diversity in traditions, priorities and concerns. However it is not just the diversity of community interest that makes achieving a common vision a complex process. The vision must also balance the interest of business, of ecosystems, and of human societies – the familiar balancing act between three dimensions of sustainability: the economic environmental and social dimensions. Hence one of the first challenges for sustainable development planning is to represent these diverse priorities while also creating a consensus from which action can take place.

Participation: Presence of people with living with disability in decision making processes including governance structures at sub-national level.

Voice: Just their presence in decision making processes and structures is not enough but let their concerns be head through their voices.

Access: People living with disability lack information on development in their every day life but in order for them to claim what is due to them they need to have access to information that can better and improve their lives.

Identificación cultural de género en Chile y la perpetuación de la mujer como víctima

Lillian Tonk es voluntaria de la YWCA de Valparaíso-Chile desde el año 1999. Ha participado en programas de apoyo a Mujeres víctimas de violencia y sus hijos realizados por la Asociación a nivel local. Psicóloga Egresada de la Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile, se ha desempeñado profesionalmente en diversas áreas, siendo una de ellas la Intervención y apoyo familiar en la restitución de derechos  vulnerados de niños, niñas y jóvenes. Actualmente desempeña el cargo de Secretaria en la Junta Directiva de la YWCA de Valparaíso-Chile.

Lillian Tonk

A propósito del tema que nos convoca, la violencia contra la mujer, y a la fecha en la que nos encontramos, 12 de Octubre, en la que se conmemoran 520 años de la llegada de Colón a América, he recordado un interesante libro[i] realizado por la Antropóloga Chilena Sonia Montecino, en la cual se pregunta respecto de cómo se han llevado a cabo las identificaciones de género en nuestro continente.

Dentro de sus muy interesantes propuestas señala que está principal y transversalmente  marcada por la maternidad, es decir, la idea de la “femeneidad” como “Madre”. Varias razones esgrime la autora para éste fenómeno, siendo uno de los mas importantes el proceso de mestizaje producido durante la colonización española, en donde la “india”, la habitante originaria de nuestras tierras, es sometida sexualmente por el colonizador, procreando hijos mestizos que solo son asumidos en cuidado y crianza por ésta mujer-madre-sola. El varón, que no ejerce la paternidad presente, pasa a convertirse en un “Padre ausente” o un “Hijo” de ésta madre sola, y es en esas figuras bajo las cuales se valida su rol.

Pero ésta femeneidad de madre histórica está definida a fuego por el Sufrimiento y el Sacrificio, en un principio porque al ser una “madre soltera” es castigada o rechazada socialmente por la “falta” cometida al engendrar un hijo, para luego en un segundo momento ser apoyada, integrada e incluso a veces mantenida nuevamente por sus redes familiares, a cambio de la existencia de una “Madre abnegada” que sacrifica todo por su hija o hijo, como reivindicación de su honra y su valor personal.

¡Cómo la cultura ha marcado el ser mujer en nuestra sociedad Chilena y Latinoamericana! Una mujer que solo se valida desde el sacrificio, de la inmolación por los hijos; una mujer que recibe apoyo de la familia solo si ésta es capaz de olvidarse de si misma y actuar con abnegación y sin quejarse en el rol de cuidado y crianza de los hijos. Son frases que mis coterráneas pueden encontrar descritas hoy, en el año 2012 en la forma en como se describen las expectativas del comportamiento de una mujer. ¿Podemos considerar por tanto violencia a la expectativa cultural de que una mujer tiene valor si es una madre, y si sufre y se sacrifica en silencio por serlo?

No es que en estas palabras quiera hablar en contra de la maternidad y el rol de crianza, pero me hace sentido que ésta visión histórica marca profundamente el COMO esto se ejerce. Y pienso en varios puntos que pueden proyectarse a partir de este pensamiento, y en preguntas que tal vez puedan orientar a la reflexión en torno a éstos temas:

a) La urgencia casi obligada de que una mujer DEBA ser madre para “darle sentido a su vida”: ¿a cuántas de nosotras no nos han inculcado desde pequeñas que cada cosa aprendida y realizada tiene la finalidad de mejorar nuestra capacidad de crianza?; y ¿a cuántas que hemos superado los “límites tácitos” de tiempo permitidos para la procreación se nos mira con lástima como si éste hecho nos quitara valor? ¿Cuántas de nosotras frente a esto hemos sentido la necesidad de procrear un hijo bajo cualquier condición, solo para “tener un norte”, para darle un sentido a nuestra existencia?

b) El prejuicio hacia el hombre como no apto para el cuidado de un hijo o una hija: desde incluso el seno de nuestras leyes y la dificultad de que a un varón se le otorgue la tuición o adopción de un niño o niña. ¿Cuántas de nosotras nos hemos sorprendido de la pareja de alguna de nuestras amigas que decide dejar de trabajar para dedicarse al cuidado de un hijo o hija?. Conozco un par de casos, y lejos de valorar su decisión son tildados de flojos o aprovechadores del trabajo de la mujer. ¿Cuántas veces se desautoriza al propio varón del ejercicio de la autoridad sobre los hijos? ¿Cuántos hombres terminan desentendiéndose de ésta labor por la serie de obstáculos que nosotras mismas vamos poniendo?.

c) La casi imposibilidad de que una mujer que se hace cargo sola de sus hijos e hijas pueda realizar actividades sin ellos: ¿A cuántas mujeres hemos visto que dejan de realizar sus actividades profesionales, laborales, recreativas por dedicarse a la crianza? ¿Cuántas veces hemos escuchado que a una mujer se le brinda apoyo en el cuidado de un hijo, siempre y cuando sea por razones estrictamente laborales o productivas? Se ignora la necesidad de la persona de tener un espacio propio, no necesariamente ocupado por sus crias, y se valida como “buena” o “mala” solo en la medida en que sacrifique incluso aspectos mínimos de recreación o calidad de vida si es que en ellos deja de ser “madre”. Creo que es aún mas difícil si hablamos de que una mujer-madre pueda salir a divertirse con amistades y recibir apoyo en el cuidado de los hijos mientras eso ocurra.

Muchas otras reflexiones y preguntas pueden surgir a partir de éstas afirmaciones. Lo interesante es poder cuestionarnos el que la historia también ha marcado el cómo nos desenvolvemos en nuestro rol. En mucho hemos validado la violencia hacia nosotras, pues nosotras mismas nos evaluamos a partir del nivel de sacrificio y sufrimiento.

Que el ser mujer, hombre, persona en Latinoamérica y el mundo deje de ser sinónimo de “víctima” o “victimario” depende también de que seamos capaces de resignificar parte de nuestra historia como cultura.

---

[i] Sonia Montecino A., “Palabra Dicha. Escritos sobre Género, identidades, mestizaje”, 1997,  Colección de Libros electrónicos Serie: Estudios, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Chile.

MY LIFE WITH THE YWCA

By Hanne Braun, National Office the YWCA of Germany & Former President of the  YWCA of Germany 

Hanne Braun looks back on her lifetime experience with the YWCA:

In 1952, as a ten year old girl, I heard about the YWCA. The head office of the Protestant Girls’ Work based at the Burckardthaus in Berlin reported about Ruth van Hoogevest of the World YWCA in Geneva and her work with German refugees. I also learnt about a woman from the Madras YWCA, who did an internship in Geneva. In 1993 I met this Indian lady then 75 years old at the Madras YWCA.

Hanne Braun

These very first experiences revealed to me the worldwide solidarity of the YWCA family. Ecumenical belief was put into practice and disclosed to girls and young women the chances and possibilities of participating and playing an active part in society and politics.

I became a social worker at the Association for International Youth Work/Les amies de la jeune fille, working especially with migrants and refugees, as well as in the prevention of trafficking. In 2005, in cooperation with other women’s association, this association founded the now existing German YWCA.

In 1973 during a seminar “Women in Migration” I learnt about the work of the YWCA of Greece as well as of other European YWCAs. In 1975 I was sent for the first time as a delegate to the World Council in Vancouver. From 1979 to 1987 I served as a member of the World YWCA Executive Committee.  As a European member of the World Executive Committee I was automatically also a member of the European YWCAs’ committee.   As the youngest member in the group I helped to start the European Youth Conferences in Strasbourg over a period of five years.

The years at the World Executive Committee were not always easy, but apart from ecumenical English I learnt a lot about global relationship and how young women and the YWCA can benefit from this network.

I represented Y-interests at Bread for the World /EZE, as well as at the Women’s World Day of Prayer and the Protestant Women’s Work in Germany. When the YWCA work required a new structure in Germany, we founded the German YWCA as an independent women’s association, open for other associations and women interested in establishing contact with ecumenical and international women’s groups.

Up to now, we are only a small but active association. We receive strength for our work from being a part of the largest ecumenical women’s network, but also from personal encounters at the World Councils or through visits from other Y-women to the German YWCA, such as Nelly Hope Lukale from Kenya last month.

World YWCA Pacific Leadership Summit

By Catherine Bateman from the YWCA of Australia

Participants

From the 19^th of July to the 29^th of July this year I was invited by the World YWCA to join a training team of 6 women from the Pacific region in training and mentoring a group of 16 young women from the nations of Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji and Samoa.

I’ve been involved in my local YWCA, YWCA Victoria, since I was 15 and attended a one day leadership workshop. In more recent years I’ve worked part time with YWCA Victoria and YWCA Australia on projects as diverse as website design and development, circus programs, homeless employment and job readiness for long term unemployed women. In my time with the Y I’ve been lucky enough to represent Australia in Mongolia, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Turkey and now, Fiji.

So when I was asked if I would like to join the Pacific Training Team to work with 16 young women in Fiji, I jumped at the opportunity to continue with my involvement. The Pacific Leadership Summit (PLS) is the first of its kind for the World YWCA. Traditionally, the Y will host Regional Training Institutes (RTI) which focus on a single area (eg: violence against women) and train a large number of women, including a percentage of women under 30, in the specifics of that issue in their region. The PLS was very different as it was exclusively open to women under the age of 30 who are already acting as leaders in their communities and the end goal was not just greater knowledge but the development of new leadership programs to be funded by the World YWCAs Power to Change Fund.

For five days we worked 8:30am to 7pm with sessions on models of young women’s leadership, cultural issues facing young women across the region, program design, human rights and budgeting. The participants were required to pitch their program ideas to local funders such as UNFPA and AusAID and then present them to their association presidents for approval. As a member of the training team and the person in charge of all communications I was working long days every day, interviewing the participants for World YWCA project, mentoring the Fijian team and teaching circus skills. It was an utterly exhausting experience but as always, working with young people fills me with energy and enthusiasm. In the next months I will continue to work with the Fijian young women to implement their program, visiting Fiji at least once more before the end of the year and again in 2013. Then in March we will all reconvene with the young women involved in the Asian YWCAs version of this program in Thailand where we will reflect, evaluate and plan for the future.

For me personally, being involved in a program like this brings to life what I find most meaningful in my work with young people, not just filling them with information but valuing their own life experience as genuine and important and giving them the tools to be masters of their own futures and the futures of their peers. In communities like Fiji, giving this sort of power to young people is culturally problematic, however with good planning, support and respect I hope that young women’s leadership can be a concept that flourishes across the region.

It was an incredibly pleasure and privilege to be involved in this training and I while I expect the coming months to be incredibly challenging, I also hope that I will gain much from the experience that I can implement in my other work. I work with young people in the community on issues of health and wellbeing, particularly sexuality, mental health and body image. My greatest passion is spending time with young people and hearing their stories of their lives. In the Pacific YWCAs we have a leadership strategy that states young women need five things in order to become leaders in their communities. These are to be Safe, Respected, Included, Connected and Skilled. This might be a Pacific specific strategy but I think we can all agree that it’s a universal concept.

 

My experience at the YWCA of Germany

By Nelly Lukale, World YWCA Programme Associate

My short trip to the YWCA of Germany made a great impact in my life as I learnt so many things. Most of the staff members are volunteers who offer their time and energy to serve the community especially young women and girls. I was privileged to be hosted by Hanne Braun the former President of the YWCA of Germany and who has been a member of the YWCA movement for more than 30 years including serving as an Executive Board member of the World YWCA.

Nelly Lukale

Some of the programmes that they run for young women are just fantastic and so empowering. The first programme that really inspired me was the Banoff Mission which is run by the YWCA of Germany and Lutheran mission; it stands at the Stuttgart train station. It is open for information exchange for the young and old people who arrive at the train station and need assistance on how to get around Stuttgart. They provide travel assistance, information, counseling, referral and emergency crisis. They also give special support to different kinds of people with difficulties in travel such as people in social distress like: migrants, homeless families, women and children who have experienced violence, disabled people, those suffering with mental health problems and drug abuse. They work closely with special institutions like social workers, Federal Railways and the Federal Border Guard. They also cooperate with institutions for the youth, the homeless, women’s shelters, and mental health counseling centers, offices and senior services for people with an immigrant background.

The other programme is the Women’s Information Centre in Stuttgart (FIZ) which is a counseling service for migrants from Asia, Africa, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe. Its work focuses on the psycho-social counseling and support for women who have come as marriage migrants to Germany. The second target group is the actual or potential victims and witnesses of human trafficking and forced prostitution. This includes crisis intervention, follow-up of court cases, help in developing and implementing a self-determined life planning and support for women returning to their home countries. This is funded by the state of Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Württemberg and various foundations and donations.

Migration is a major focus of the YWCA of Germany specifically local branches in Cologne and Stuttgart. Many young Women from Africa, Eastern Europe and other parts of the world see the migration to Germany as a way to escape poverty, unemployment, inadequate access to education, traditional gender roles, discrimination and corruption. These young women also have high hopes of being able to support their families or themselves. Due to false information and sufficient language barriers, these women are at risk of being exploited or forced into prostitution. This project helps such people by providing Information about labour exploitation and human trafficking, volunteer services, internships, study visits and Au Pair opportunities. They are also advised about their stay in Germany and where to seek help in a crisis or emergency situation. Illegal immigrates   who are willing to return to their home countries are also assisted to do so.

During my visit, my host Hanne Braun took me around Stuttgart to see different places and scenes and also meet the sex workers who are mainly young women who do this not because they want to but because they want to support their families and are unable to get jobs. The YWCA of Germany also has a Programme with the sex workers where they are taken through counseling sessions and helped to get alternative jobs. It was a life time experience, to learn all that they do and to go to Germany for the first time was so great.

 

 

 

 

“I am a young woman, I am a leader”

By Marcia Banasko – World YWCA Programme Associate-Communications

I currently have the honour of being part of the World YWCA team in Nepal at the World YWCA Asian Young Women’s Leadership training. I arrived in Kathmandu nearly one week ago; I left rainy Manchester, UK expecting sunshine and extreme heat. However, when I stepped off the plane in Kathmandu the rain was pouring down and the sun was hidden behind grey clouds, very much like England! There was one difference I was surrounded by the majestic Himalayas!

After, a short taxi ride I arrived at the hotel and was greeted by Draupadi Rokoya, the General Secretary of the YWCA of Nepal.

The training tagline “I am a young woman, I am a leader” aims to increase the capacity of young women and mentors in order to build and exercise leadership in their lives and communities and to advocate for their rights. In total there are 18 young women from 6 different YWCAs participating in the training;  Nepal, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. In addition to the young women there are five women over 30 years old from the above countries who are participating as mentors to the young women and these five women have also been engaged in mentoring training throughout the week.

In my role as Communications facilitator, I have ran a full day’s workshop on communicating your message and developing a communications strategy. The day proved fun and informative as the participants engaged in planning public campaigns on HIV and AIDS. One young woman from India shared her experience as a person living with HIV and this truly moved and inspired the group because she has overcome so many barriers in her life. Having married at 18  she felt she was not in a position to negotiate the practice of safe sex and then became pregnant only to find out that she had contracted HIV from your husband. Her husband then abandoned her and she was discriminated against by her local community who labelled her a sex worker, although of course she had never been one. She said the thing that has kept her going is the YWCA of India and her faith in God. Her daughter is HIV negative! Now, this young woman advocates for the rights of those living with HIV and AIDS. Furthermore she runs awareness workshops in her local community.  She is just one example of the amazing YWCA young women who are true leaders of today and tomorrow!

Yesterday, we all went on site visits to different organisations and communities in and surrounding Kathmandu, some to the Human Rights Commission, the Tibetan refugee camp, the main hospital and slum areas . I had the pleasure of going to Thankot, a rural community just outside of Kathmandu. There I met a group of women and young women who are members of the YWCA of Nepal. These inspirational women and young women have set up a women’s awareness group in their community with the aim of creating a safe space for women to come together and share their stories, their problems, and find solutions. One young Muslim woman shared her journey with us and described how she had been a victim of domestic violence and started attending the group once a week. In the group she found a support network who offered her advice and guidance. Little by little she found the strength within her to leave her husband. She explained how she didn’t know how she was going to survive because she also has a baby boy to raise, and no income; however at the YWCA she attended a microfinance course and a beauty course. Now, she works in a beauty salon and makes just enough to get by.  While in Thankot, we also visited a health clinic run by the government. One of the YWCA members conducts outreach from the clinic as a health worker. She too attended training at the YWCA of Nepal, the training was SRHR training. Armed with the knowledge she now goes and speaks to young women about their sexual health and rights.

As the week draws to a close, I am feeling humbled and honoured to have had this opportunity to engage with these wonderful women and young women from across Asia. Just under two weeks ago I was asked to step in and lead the communications for the training. I jumped at the opportunity because I believe in young women’s leadership and I feel passionate about Asia and the challenges that women, young women and girls face across the continent. Sadly, it never ceases to amaze me how violence against women, SRHR and human trafficking are global problems that exist in every corner of the planet. However, the thing that fills me with hope for the future is every single woman and young woman I have met this week!

We are young women and we are leaders!

From participation to leadership: World YWCA Experiences 56th session of the UN Commision on the Status of Woman, 2012

By Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda – World YWCA General Secretary

I write to share some reflections of the experience of the World YWCA in the last four years, with a specific focus on this year’s experience with the 56th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). As I sat in that room with Mildred Persinger, Mikoko Ejiri and the young women like Sandra Cano and Tania Chapata who were in the space for the first time and yet were assertive in their knowledge and experience. I felt that sense of the YWCA movement reclaiming its space as a global leader and champion for women’s rights, for empowerment and for options and choices.
I immediately recalled the leadership role of the YWCA in the 1940s as we lobbied for inclusion of non discrimination on the basis of sex as the minimum language in the universal declaration of human rights, my mind travelled back to 1975 when Mildred Persinger convened the first international women’s tribune during the first UN Women’s conference, and the dame Nita Barrow’s role in leading the 3rd UN Women’s Conference. I am refreshed by the experiences of former general secretaries Elizabeth Palmer, Elaine Hesse steel, Musimbi Kanyoro with their own history of engagement with the global multi lateral systems of the UN and other bodies creating space, opportunities and possibilities for women and girls.

The CSW is an important intergovernmental space for normative agenda setting and monitoring the previous commitments of the UN. Following the Beijing conference of 1995 the CSW has followed the core themes of the platform for action in monitoring implementation. It is convened within a period of two weeks in February and March of each year. Over the years the effectiveness and importance of the meeting has continued to be affirmed, though communities and women’s networks have been seeking the outcome to be more influential and have greater impact on the global development agenda.
The World YWCA is one of over 350 organisations that formed the GEAR campaign, a global loose coalition of mostly women’s organisations advocating for stronger gender architecture at the United Nations. This campaign was seeking a United Nations mechanism that has greater status within the United Nations system, increased and quality resources to deliver on its agenda, and a greater coherence between the normative and operational mandates. This resulted in the United Nations general assembly adopting a decision in 2010 to establish the United Nations entity for gender equality and women’s empowerment, now known as UN Women, which became operational in January 2011.
This was coming from a background of fragmentation with four entities and structures leading work on gender equality and women’s rights including Unifem, Instraw, UN Daw and Osagi, whose collective mandates included operational programmes in countries and communities, research and knowledge management, gender mainstreaming and supporting the normative work of the United Nations and high level advisory support to the UN secretary general. It is within this space, that the 26th World YWCA council adopted a recommendation urging the movement and requesting the World office to engage more strategically with the gear campaign.

Since 2007 the World YWCA took a deliberate approach to engage strategically with CSW. Following the experiences in 2009, it became evident that if the World YWCA was to have impact in its involvement, and move from participation to influence, we had to adjust the approach, the focus and the resourcing of this process. It was and remains evident the quality engagement in the CSW requires both financial and technical resources and it’s important to have quality time dedicated to monitoring and influencing the processes. The World YWCA and its member associations repositioned its approach to include the following elements. This is not exhaustive but illustrative.

• Generate the organisational statement with key message to inform the key debates.
• Partner with other organisations and host side events as a lead or co-sponsor.
• Host an orientation and advocacy training institute for the delegation.
• Leverage the strategic role of member associations with their networks ie Helvi Sepila seminar.
• Have YWCA women and young women as speakers, experts, facilitators and resource persons. Encourage, support and mentor for everyone to have a role.
• Establish an advocacy and negotiating team that follows the governmental processes.
• Remain connected with the NGO CSW structures as they coordinate and facilitate thus offering opportunities to leverage more quality participation.
• Get involved in the ecumenical women’s groups, the young women’s caucus and the other women’s network.

To achieve the above, the CSW has to be adopted as a movement wide opportunity for engagement.

2012 Statistics at a glance:

• 70 Women leaders attended from the YWCA movement.
• 32 Benefitted from the training.
• 10 events were hosted by the world YWCA.
• 4 YWCA women had opportunity to speak during the NGO consultation day.
• 11 YWCA women speakers in various events during the two week programme.
• 6 Coordinated advocacy team.
• 40 Coordinated and participated in the young women caucus.
• 11Attended the WSC reception.
• 11 Participated in events hosted by the UN or governments.

Despite the fact that the 56th Session of the UN CSW did not manage to adopt a final set of agreed conclusions, the process itself opened opportunities to individual women within our moment, created partnerships and increased the voice of the world movement in the global space.

Reflections on the Commission on the Status of Women

By YWCA of Canberra Executive Director, Rebecca Vassarotti

Advocacy Team Convenes for Resolutions

CSW is a forum for learning for YWCA delegates, with eight Y women coming together to work on text for resolutions that are being developed as part of the session.

We worked on the resolution around women and the impacts of HIV and AIDs. This was something that none of the participants had done before and we used this as an opportunity to understand the process of how to develop language for UN documents.  We worked through the document, noting areas where key issues for the YWCA had been missed and making suggestions on language – noting places where we needed to look at agreements that the UN had already made on this issue to ensure that Governments could agree to our suggestions. We have cross cultural perspectives, with Sweden, Zambia, Japan, Sri Lanka and Australia represented in the discussion. YWCA women with experience and an interest in climate change, sexual and reproductive health and post conflict situation. This was a fantastic opportunity to ensure that the views of young women were represented in the advocacy work of the YWCA.

These young women now have skills around the development of advocacy positions in the United Nations, they have had their views heard here. They have given voice to women, young women and girls impacted by HIV and AIDs and ensured that nation members listen to these.  Pretty Exciting hey!!

Brooklyn Family Justice Centre

Thanks to the wonderful Martha, CEO of YWCA of Brooklyn we arranged a tour of the Brooklyn District Attorney General’s Family Justice Centre which was attended by Australian delegates including Elizabeth Brodrick, the Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner.  We were able to tour this fantastic site, which integrates support services and criminal justice services for victims of domestic violence.  This program has come about because of a personal commitment by the District Attorney. He has devoted part of his budget to these services, often to significant criticism due to a belief that supporting victims should be placed first, and then legal ramifications of this crime addressed.  The physical space was beautiful. A significant security process (akin to going to an airport) and a non descript office space hid a beautiful welcoming space. Childcare facilities, internet access, resources and support offices are provided. The space where clients work with the prosecutors is in direct line sight to where children are being provided care. Police officers are on hand for clients who need to file incident reports but these police officers are plain clothed. Over 20 community organisations are provided space for free so that they can provide additional support. This was an amazing example of what can happen when someone has a vision, when clients are placed in the centre of services and when a dedicated group of people come together to make things better for those who have suffered violence. It was inspiring and proved that we can do things better.

YWCA Australia Presents as part of the Commission for the Status of Women

We were very excited to present our very first parallel event at this year’s Commission for the Status of Women on the fifth day of CSW.  The workshop explored how grass roots organisations can contribute to national reconciliation processes, particularly drawing on the YWCA experience of using reconciliation action plans. Michelle Deshong, an extremely skilled facilitator and Indigenous woman from Queensland facilitated the workshop. We provided information about some of the historical context from which reconciliation has grown. We then shared the story of developing a reconciliation action plan at the YWCA of Canberra, reflecting on the challenges and why we believe this has been a very useful process. Then other delegates from Burma and Sri Lanka shared their experiences coming from post conflict regions about how reconciliation processes could be useful. Key message from these reflections included the need to involve women and ensuring that there was peace with justice.  It was a session where we all learn a lot and shared our different perspectives. We were extremely proud and honoured to have the opportunity to tell our stories in this international context, and particularly proud that we were able to create a space where the voices of Indigenous women were heard.  We are particularly grateful to Michelle who brought an extra dimension to the workshop.  A great way to finish a busy week at CSW!!

On my way home

I am sitting in Los Angeles Airport at a late hour, reflecting on the incredible week we have just had at CSW. We have had incredible achievements and we are very proud of what we have done. Key highlights from my engagement at CSW have included watching the young women delegates develop and shine at this event. They came as shy young women coming from countries with tremendous challenges, and at the end of the first week all of them have presented at workshops confidently and competently. We have also established our reputation as a key advocate at this event.

From a YWCA of Canberra and YWCA Australia perspective we have much to be proud of.  We have made new friends, strengthened old ones and developed ongoing and sustainable relationships with individuals and organisations from Australia and beyond. We have lifted our profile at CSW – presenting parallel events and supporting other YWCA events. We have supported the development of young women across the YWCA movement, contributing to the training program significantly.  We have led the advocacy team, working closely with World YWCA to develop advocacy statements and skilling up the delegation to contribute to the development of the statement and then advocate for the adoption of key themes.